Bent-wire clothes hanger



Oct. 19, 1948-. L. HAYWARD 2,451,552

BENT-WIRE CLOTHES HANGER Filed NOV. 16, 1945 FIG. I.

INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 19, 1948 BEN T-WIRE CLOTHES HANGER Lee Hayward, Clayton, Mo.

Application November 16, 1946, Serial No. 710,268

8 Claims.

This invention relates to clothes hangers, and more particularly to those hangers composed, in whole or in part, of bent wire which are especially adapted to the hanging of trousers.

Wire hangers for coats and trousers are common. Many modifications of the simplest form, namely, the isosceles triangle composed of a single strand of wire with a hook at the apex of the triangle, have been developed. These devices usually have incorporated some form of clamping device which is sufficiently tensioned to hold the trousers against the supporting bar, thus obviating a balanced adjustment of the trousers upon the hanger. Any such clamp which grips with sufiicient pressure to retain pants when draped out of balance, however, will produce undesirable creases and wrinkles unless the garment is hung with meticulous care.

A major object of this invention is to provide a hanger which will receive trousers with facility, support the same without creasing or pinching of the material, and will not require careful balancing of the material over the supporting bar, for secure hanging.

Another object is to provide a clampless hanger which will allow for the support to be placed adjacent to the cuffs, a position which is desirable, for the greater weight of the suspended length from a point adjacent to the cuffs to the trouser belt line will act to stretch the material throughout, thus maintaining the desired crease.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a hanger embodying this invention;

Figure 2 is a section showing the hanger taken along line 22 of Figure 1 and illustrating the manner of use; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a modification of the hanger of Figures 1 and 2.

Generall speaking, and in accordance with this invention, a horizontal garment supporting bar is suitably connected with a hook, and provided with an underslung deviating member. The latter is arranged with reference to the bar and the hook so a garment draped over the bar will be deviated away from rectilinear relation adjacent the bar. Such deviation effects and maintains a, frictional engagement between the laps of the garment on opposite sides of the bar and thus reduces the tendency of the garment to slip off the bar under its own weight, if unbalanced.

Referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the hanger support is composed of wire and may be formed of either a single strand or of two strands. The wire is bent to provide a hook I and two depending arms 2. These arms, in turn, are bent in opposite directions to form the deviating members 3. Further bending directs the ends 4 of the Wire upwardly and, again, inwardly to provide fingers 5 which are made to enter recesses 6 in the ends of a supporting bar 1. Supporting bar I, in the embodiment shown, is of wood or a separate piece of metal. This, however, is preferred solely for the reason that in this construction a supporting bar of larger diameter than the wire used offers larger frictionbearing surface against the cloth of the trousers depending from the hanger. It will be readily apparent that the entire hanger may be made of a single strand of wire wherein the supporting bar I is initiall defined by bending, and the two free ends then bent consecutively to form the members 4, 3, 2, to be then joined finally in the hook I.

In order thatthe members 3 may function to deviate a garment (draped over bar 1) out of vertical position, the members 3 must be out of vertical alignment with the bar 1 when the hanger is supported by hook 1. Consequently, the arms 2 are bent as shown at H in Figure 2. The bend l i may be above, below or in the horizontal plane of the bar 1.

Figure 2 graphically illustrates this final bending which is given to the wire supporting members 2, 3 and 4, which directs the wire parts 3 out of the plane of the shank of the supporting hook and also out of the plane of the bar 1 so as to provide thrust surfaces for pressing against trousers 8 draped over the supporting bar.

The trousers 8, when hung as shown in Figure 2, are deviated from vertical by the deviating members 3 as is the overlap 9. This establishes frictional cloth-to-cloth contact of the trousers at Hi.

It Will be readily apparent that the diameter of the supporting bar 1 can be varied, i. e., increased, so that the friction-bearing surface of this part will be sufficient when added to the friction of cloth on cloth at ID to allow the trousers to be draped very close to the cuff across bar I. The long depending portion of the garment in proper adjustment is incapable of overcoming this force of friction and thereby slipping from the hanger.

While in the embodiment described, no clamping action between the depending arms 2, 2 and the supporting bar 1' is essential, such an additional pressure can be incorporated in the hanger by appropriately bending the wire. For example, segments l, 4 may be bent backwardly (as seen in Figure 1) beyond the vertical plane of hook I and upper part of arms 2, 2, prior to afiixing support bar 1, so that when the supporting bar I is finally connected to the fingers 5, 5, the bar T will be biased against the depending arms 2, 2.

Figure 3 illustrates a modification of the hanger embodying this invention wherein a single strand of wire is bent to form the depending arms 2, the deviating members 13 and thesupportingbar ll. In this embodiment, as in the previous one, the arms 2 are bent, as at l l, to remove the members l3 from the vertical plane, including the bar IT. This particular adaptation has shoulders [6 which lend themselves to the support of a coat.

It will be apparent that the greater the weight of the clothes hung upon the hanger, the greater the tendency for the supporting bar to press tightly against the depending arms 2.

This invention is not limited to the particular embodiments disclosed or to the specific shape into which the wire is bent, or, in fact, to hangers made wholly or partly of wire deviating members.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed and desired to "be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A; garment hanger comprising, a supporting 'hook,.a bar connected to the hook by depending arms, .said depending arms forming deviating membersbelow said bar when the hanger is sustained by said hook, said deviating members being removed from the vertical planetraversing said 'bar when the hanger is sustained bysaid hook and said deviating members being so biased as to {cause said .bar to bear against said depending 'arms.

'2. A garment hanger comprising, a wire hook, a supporting bar connected to the hook by depending wire arms, 'said depending wire arms being bent in spaced relation to the supporting bar to form deviating members below said bar and saidhook when the hangerissustained by said hook, said ,deviating members being removed from the plane traversing said. depending arms and the point of suspensionrof said hook.

3. A garment hanger comprising, awire hook,

Number for said bar joined in a hook centrally located on one side of and above said bar, and a plurality of deviating members on the other side of and below said bar, said supporting arms being bent out of parallel relation with the vertical plane including said bar when the hanger is sustained by the hook.

5. A wire garment hanger composed of a single strand of wirecomprisinga bar,. supporting arms for said bar joined in a hook centrally located on one side of said bar and a plurality of deviating members on the other side of and below said bar, said supporting arms being bent out of parallel relation with the vertical plane including vsaid bar-when the hanger is sustained by the hook, said supporting arms and deviating mem- :bers being biasedrso as to cause said bar to bear againstthe arms at a plurality of points.

6. A coat and pants hanger comprising, a hook, a supporting bar connected to the hook, and de- "viating members in spaced relation to the supporting bar, said deviating members-having shoulders --extending beyond the length of the bar, said deviating member being removed from the vertical plane'traversing said bar when the hanger is sustained by the hook, and connections between the hook and the deviating memher, said connect-ions crossing said vertical plane centrally of and below said supporting bar.

8. A 'garmenthangercomprising a hook, a supporting bar connected to the hook, a pair of deviating members in spaced'relation to the supporting bar, said deviating members being removed from the verticalplane traversing said bar whenthe hanger is sustained by the hook, and connections between the 'hook' and each of the deviating members, said connections crossing "said vertical plane centrally of and below said supporting bar, andljoined with-the inner ends of said" deviating members respectively.

7 LEE, HAYWARD.

REFERENCES CITED .Thefollowing references are of record in-the :fileof ,this vpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 872,488 Wheary .Dec. 3, 1907 

